out here in the boondocks i've got Mom & Pop phone company wi fiber to my door/100Mbps
Posted on 01/02/2018 7:40:32 AM PST by george76
from the we-don't-have-to-compete,-we're-the-cable-and-broadband-industry dept.
What do you do when you're faced by an existential, evolutionary shift that threatens your entire, overly-comfortable industry? Why you raise rates, of course! Comcast is one of six cable providers who have informed customers that they've raised the rates for the new year, despite the record-setting shift toward cord cutting during 2017. Everything Comcast offers is seeing price hikes .., ranging from increases in the company's traditional channel bundles, a price increase for Comcast's standalone streaming platform, and even the fee charged for renting a modem (which is now $11 per month).
Comcast's even jacking up the obnoxious fees it's currently facing several lawsuits over. That includes the "Broadcast TV fee," which is simply a part of the cost of doing business (paying for content) buried below the line, letting Comcast advertise one rate -- then sock consumers with another price entirely once the bill comes due. That fee, which Comcast has insisted is just its way of "being transparent," was just $1.50 when introduced in 2013 -- and will be bumped to $8 per month in the new year:
...
With cord cutting setting records, why doesn't Comcast feel the need to actually adapt to changing markets? It doesn't have to. The company is securing a bigger monopoly over broadband in a growing number of markets thanks to telcos that no longer think it's worth it to upgrade aging DSL lines.
That means there are more markets than ever where if you want a decent broadband connection that meets the FCC's 25 Mbps definition of broadband, Comcast is your only option. As a result, Comcast knows that it can simply jack up the cost of broadband as well to counter any TV revenue losses without being punished by the pesky nuisance of competition.
(Excerpt) Read more at techdirt.com ...
We discovered Amazon Prime streaming early last year. I dumped TV in 1997 and just started streaming on demand via Wi-fi. My family leapfrogged the whole cable/satellite tv thing.
Just a few days and I get high speed and cancel Directv.
bookmark
You need the internet connection though. They charge for that too.
I’m on contract until May this year.
Their internet service — the only one of the three services I use, to include security system and cable TV — was so spotty last year that I had to order AT&T internet to back them up.
Comcast is my most expensive bill, and they want to raise rates?
I shall be a cord cutter.
I believe 5G cell data is coming out soon.
If so, I am looking at going back to a portable hotspot.
I had one a few years back and despite being only 3G it worked well and was very handy.
Home / work / on the road, there was your regular network and no guest accesses.
.
No, no, no, no, this is a good thing! Free markets! Smaller companies will start poping up all over the place because well, free markets with the now little to no oversight, we can trust Comcast to do the right thing as well, can't we? lol.
In a nutshell how does cutting the cord work?
From what I can surmise, I need some hardware like a hulu product (one coming out with a DVR from what I hear), an ISP (which might still be my cable provider) and a streaming service.
As to the service I understand the on demand services such as NetFlix and Amazon Prime. But I also hear that Direct TV now offers streaming with local channels (or do I require a digital antenna?).
Any insight is appreciated.
Obviously because the FCC removed Net Neutrality, just like the raise that went into effect right after it imposed it. (By the way, has your town raised the taxes on cable recently? They will...)
Aside from cellular providers, there are other broadband providers (sat/local wide band radio) which cover the vast majority of the country. Expect data caps on them soon, so the next provider will roll out with their option.
Amazing how the free market actually works.
My Comcast internet bill just went up. We dropped the cable and phone several years ago.
Lucky. D-TV just gave me a discount because i threatened to pull the plug.
For TV, I use an antenna on a TV with no technology attached to it. I get enough stations to meet my needs.
The cable industry is insane. It's like the land line phone, which has gotten crazy expensive. One can only assume that the endgame is to get rid of everything that uses above ground cable or wires.
Paying more to watch more and more commercials. Cable TV is loaded with them.
When I moved I went with the Direct TV Now streaming service. A few local channels but not all, I only get 2 local channels. I got a discount on it by upgrading my ATT cellular service to their unlimited data but I did get a “free” Roku box. But it was still cheaper than subscribing to Comcast’s comparable channel lineup, a cost savings of about $60 per month.
But for the Direct TV Now and the Roku which I can also stream Amazon Prime and Netflix from, you need a high speed internet connection and a Wi-Fi. My only choice for that were I live is Comcast. I got their cheapest internet only option but it still required me to get their very basic cable (only local channels and channels like C-Span and HSN).
With my ATT phone I can use it as an internet hot spot and have tried using that for my computer and Roku. It works OK for the computer but was spotty for streaming. If and when that improves, I’ll be cancelling the Comcast.
We have a Roku. We dropped the cable and upped our internet speed. We have Hulu and Sling. Added up, it all comes to half of what we were paying when we had cable. There are other good streaming devices out there as well. We chose Roku and really like it.
out here in the boondocks i've got Mom & Pop phone company wi fiber to my door/100Mbps
With cord cutting setting records, why doesn't Comcast feel the need to actually adapt to changing markets? It doesn't have to. The company is securing a bigger monopoly over broadband in a growing number of markets thanks to telcos that no longer think it's worth it to upgrade aging DSL lines.This is what I don't understand about the cord cutters.That means there are more markets than ever where if you want a decent broadband connection that meets the FCC's 25 Mbps definition of broadband, Comcast is your only option. As a result, Comcast knows that it can simply jack up the cost of broadband as well to counter any TV revenue losses without being punished by the pesky nuisance of competition.
Most of the companies that provide bundled television content also provide internet services. So when they start experiencing diminished returns on the bundled tv side, what's to prevent them from raising the cost of broadband access to make up the difference?
We cancelled and went with FIOS
I watch no TV except football and even that’s gone now due to recent events.
The wife watches every show that I would rather eat lead than watch.
But she votes conservative so I allow it :)
I watch shows on Amazon Prime.
Yes, that was a joke about the allowing part.
I went completely cold turkey on TV in July. Best thing I ever did. I can check news and sports highlights in the internet but no longer spend time watching comedies, dramas or entire sporting events. Have so much more time now to do more productive things.
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